Storytelling and strategy games are excellent tools to educate, and inspire employees to solve problems, to be more analytical and innovative. Today’s environment of quick decisions, intense work, and increased competition leave little room for creativity and may stimulate paralysis by over thinking. Increased work pressures coupled with continuous challenges from business competition may, in fact, lower work productivity. As a result, employees can feel less empowered than they really are, diminishing the true potential of the individual and the organization. Games dramatically optimize human experience. Games have fun elements built-in and create positive emotional states even as they simulate difficult situations with many obstacles to overcome. Business games designed to increase the group’s creativity and problem-solving skills are powerful tools that allow managers to step outside of old habits and refresh their thinking.

1. How Games &
StoryTelling improve
sales perfomance

2. Why StoryTelling and Games?
Storytelling and games are excellent strategic tools to educate,
and to inspire employees to solve problems, to be more analytical
and innovative
Games dramatically optimize human experience. Games have fun
elements built-in and create positive emotional states even as they
simulate difficult situations with many obstacles to overcome

3. Purpose
The purpose of this work is to use the value of breakthrough play
and storytelling in improving performance, collaboration,
decision making, and in dealing with the unknown
ative

4. Sample of a short
workshop
9am-10:30am

5. Introductions 9:00 am- 9:10am
We connect and establish the purpose of the work

6. Storytelling 9:10 am- 9:25am
Awareness Exercise: A quick appreciative inquiry (storytelling)
exercise to help the group learn how to be aware of the
companies’ Strengths and Opportunities and how to deal with
Threats
We use storytelling boards and color to create a lively map of
opportunities to be shared with others as well

7. We play the game 9:25am-
9:55am
Quick Game: we play a game where we focus on solving some
real problems in a creative and fun way. Two teams play several
levels of the games. These teams face each other and win points
for resourcefulness and for solving business problems.
These points can be redeemed for lunch/ movie tickets/ exchange
of services, etc

8. Integrating the learning 9:55am-10:05am
Innovative sales processes: we explore new ways to sell. The
entire group shares the experience and the feel of the game, and
the learning from the issues we’ve solved
We capture these stories on the white board, and we share them
later by video, photos and other (appropriate) community-shared
channels with others in the company

9. Supporting Integration 10:05am-10:30am
We learn how to experience success through the process of
crafting new possible “stories” and approaches
We discuss innovative sales and marketing strategies, and learn
how to leverage existing assets and the role of the
company/brand in the community.
We learn how to overcome difficulty with resourcefulness

10. Results
As a result of our work, teams increase innovation in sales,
improve collaboration, and grow the employees’ resourcefulness,
and confidence

11. Revenue
Teams play well structured strategic games to learn about
problem solving skills related to generation of new leads, better
ways of engaging clients in the community, and closing sales

12. Collaboration
Participants learn to engage with others in the company in
organic ways, learn how to intensify team bonds and
relationships and how to get recognition

13. Resourcefulness
People learn how to overcome obstacles to closing sales by
engaging in well-structured business games that stimulate
creative and analytical thinking

14. Growth and confidence
After the workshop, employees take back home strategic tips that
can be applied immediately to one’s work for measurably better
results in sales, collaboration and resourcefulness

15. Contact
Ligia Buzan, Ph.D.
Buzan Consulting
www.ligiabuzan.com
Email: Ligia.buzan@gmail.com
Skype: ligiabuzan